As some of you know, our website started back in 2008 as a simple blog offering music downloads of "easycore" bands from all over the world. I, Mario, personally stumbled across the blog in late-2009 and I'll always remember spending two or three days straight downloading anything that I didn't already have. I quickly became a regular visitor, anxiously awaiting new posts while talking music with other readers, and members of bands such as With The Punches, In Her Own Words, Three Cent Cinema, and others, in the chatbox.
Fast-forward to late-2010 and I'd found myself with the privilege of overhauling the blog with a new layout and post format. Some months later, we were contacted by Latin For Truth's manager to set up an interview as the band entered the studio to record its then-upcoming album, Youth Crew Blues. With a passion for music, supporting the local scene, formal writing, and a pre-existing admiration for the band, I eagerly accepted and wrote what would become my first official piece. The next step would be to begin posting news articles on our Tumblr page, which I soon decided to combine with the downloads on the blog. Later, we would go on to interview bands like Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, and Veara, while posting news more frequently and covering an evergrowing array of bands. By then, we had re-established ourselves as a local music webzine, adding on to the solid reputation that my fellow bloggers had already built.
As time passed, more and more bands approached us to feature them on our website, so it seemed logical to take advantage of our extensive reader base and cover these bands via exclusive features, various compilations, and other means. As our reader base and goals grew and developed in parallel, we decided to expand by covering the bands that were largely the reason why the website existed and thrived. These bands included the most relevant acts, such as A Day To Remember, Four Year Strong, and Set Your Goals. The next change was to expand even further into a wider variety of pop punk, hardcore, indie/emo, post-hardcore, and punk bands. This change seemed rather welcomed as we didn't stop posting what we already specialised in; we just added to it. Not only did we receive more attention from bands, but also from members of the community interested in joining our team. Special shoutout to my hard-working team that I couldn't do this without.
To this day, our main focus is to expose and support talented local bands from various corners of the globe, next to keeping our readers informed with a slew of more renowned bands. Now we feel that we've taken the name xEasycorex.net as far as we can, since we believe it limits the perception of our current aesthetic and content, so we've renamed ourselves to More Than Sound Collective. To us, music is more than just a pastime or something that sits in the background; it's a way of life and our passion. We plan on focusing our collective efforts into assuring that the website continues to grow at the forefront of our local scene. We understand that sometimes when bands change names, their output follows suit, but that won't be the case with us; we'll continue covering the same bands, plus many more, (you may have noticed our scope has already expanded in recent months) in the most ethical, friendly, and supportive way we can.
So why have I bothered to write all of this on such a personal level? Because I'd like our readers to know that we're not a faceless webzine with no personal touch that is solely interested in its own gain. The music is our number one priority and we give it all that we have.
We've tried to make the changeover as smooth as possible for everyone - our Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and YouTube profiles have all been renamed, so you won't have to connect with any new pages. Browsing to www.xeasycorex.net will re-direct you to our new address, www.mtscollective.com, but if you have any concerns, questions, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us! If we have ever helped out your band or introduced you to any music that you enjoy and mightn't've otherwise found, we'd really appreciate it if you returned the favour by spreading the word. If you're also interested in getting to know us individually, head over here for our staff profiles.
We hope you enjoy being a part of this as much as we do and that you'll support us as much as we support the scene.
- Mario
Exclusive: Life On The Sideline EP announcement, music video premiere
Since releasing Honesty Is A Dying Breed two years ago, Life On The Sideline has remained active on the road and is now ready to unveil its upcoming EP, Never Settle. To kick things off, we're premiering the music video for the band's new single, "Echo", which tells the sad story of a young girl reminiscing times spent with her deceased partner. While not a pop punk song per se, it's as catchy as one with an infectious chorus that you'll inevitably get stuck in your head. The band's sound could be compared to that of Transit's and The Early November's. Fans can pre-order the EP on iTunes and CD here, before it's released on June 7th. […]
